


CREOSOTING 



BETHELL PROCESS, 



PKESEEYATION OF TIMBEE FKOM DECAY 
AND THE ATTACKS OF MAEINE WOKMS. 



Central Creosoting and Burnettizing Works, 



ELIZABETHPORT, N. J. 

J. G. MOORE & CO. 

PROPRIETORS. 

Office, 96 Wall St., New York. 







■arren. St 



: V . L'iina, Ax't-niie, 



CREOSOTING. 



BETHELL PROCESS. 



PRESERYATIOISr OF TIMBER FROM DECAY 
AND THE ATTACKS OF MARINE WORMS. 



Central Creosotlng and Burnettizing Works, 

ELIZABETH, N. J. 

J. G. MOORE & CO., 



PROPRIETORS. 



Office, 96 Wall St., New York. 



PRINTED BY 

THE QRAPHIC COMPANY, 

39 & 41 Park Place, 

NEW YORK. 




I 



CREOSOTING. 



Messrs. J. G. MoORE & Co., beg leave to call the atten- 
tion of all gentlemen engaged in works of construction, to 
the results realized by the use of the '' Bethell CreO- 
SOTING Process " which has been in successful operation 
in Europe for thirty-six years. 

The object in creosoting timber is two-fold ; first, to pre- 
serve it from wet and dry rot by coagulating the albumen 
of the sap, and to seal up the pores by the introduction of 
bituminous matters contained in the oil, thus protecting 
the fibres from moisture ; and, secondly, to protect timber 
submerged in salt-water, from the attacks of marine worms 
and insects, experience having proved that creosoted wood 
is never touched by them. 

The works of Messrs. J. G. Moore & Co., are situated at 
Elizabethport, ^. J., on Staten Island Sound, ten miles 
from I^ew York ; they consist of four cylinders, each 6 feet 
in diameter by 75 feet in length, made of half-inch boiler 
iron with heavy gun metal heads 3}^ inches thick, and 
capable of withstanding a pressure of 200 lbs. per square 
inch. The tracks of the C. R. R. of N. J. run paralle 1 
to, and within ten feet of these cylinders on one side, while 
50 feet from them, on the other side, is a dock front of 
900 feet in length with 14 feet depth of water. There 
are three-and-one-half acres of ground attached to the 



works, and every facility is thus afforded for the reception, 
storage, and shipment of lumber by both land and water. 

The process in brief is as follows : 

The timber to be treated is loaded upon strongly made, 
low wheeled cars, chained down, run by steam power into 
the cylinders, the doors closed and so secured by numerous 
heavy bolts as to be air tight. A vacuum is then obtained 
by an air pump worked by an engine of about thirty horse 
power, the effect being to draw out the air and super- 
abundant moisture contained in the pores of the wood. 
After the vacuum has been maintained for the requisite 
time, the pipe connection between the cylinders and the 
oil (which is contained in subterranean tanks) is opened by 
a valve, and the oil, warmed to ioo° Fahr., rushes up to fill 
the vacuum in the cylinders above. An average pressure 
of about 150 lbs. per square inch is then obtained by the 
use of a powerful pressure pump, and continued until the 
requisite quantity of oil is forced into the pores of the 
wood. From 6 to 7 lbs. per cubic foot is considered by 
European engineers to be a sufficient absorption for timber 
used in railroad and other constructions on land, while 
from 8 to 9 lbs. are used in marine works. 

Attention is called to the fact that in this process the 
wood is not heated either by steam, vapor, fire or hot bath ; 
but that the oil is simply warmed to a temperature but 
little above that of " summer heat." The fibre, therefore, 
cannot be injured by this method of application, but on 
the contrary it is greatly benefitted and strengthened, as is 
shown by the statements of all scientific and practical men 
who have written on this subject. 

Timber has been, until the last few years, so cheap in 
America as compared with Europe, that the inducement to 



construct works adapted to the preservation of lumber has 
been in a great measure wanting, but the steady increase in 
price of late years, together with the rapid diminution of 
our forests, render some artificial aid to the prolongation of 
the life of wood a necessity. The U. S. Government, under 
the able supervision of Major General John Newton and 
Major General Q. A. Gilmore has adopted this process in 
the treatment of timber used in the construction of gun 
beds in New York and some of the Southern ports, and is 
at present using it in a pile dyke near Staten Island, for the 
purpose of preserving the pihng and timbers from the naval 
worm, there being ample European evidence to prove that 
the worm never attacks timber, the pores of which are filled 
with creosote oil. 

The creosoting works in Europe are frequently much 
embarrassed in their operations by difficulty in obtaining 
oil of such specific gravity as will admit of ready penetration 
in timber; owing to the fact that the numerous chemical 
works there extract from the oil every ingredient that can 
be utilized, leaving only the residuum for timber preserva- 
tion. No such difficulty exists here. The oil made in 
New York and vicinity is equal in quahty to the best pro- 
duced in Europe, has no important ingredients extracted, 
and can be obtained of any gravity that may be required 
for creosoting timber. 

Messrs. J. G. Moore & Co. have adopted the latest im- 
improvements in vacuum and pressure machinery, employ 
assistants familiar with the process, use only the best quali- 
ties of oil, and feel satisfied from the facilities at their 
command that they can produce results in the treatment 
of timber, that will, to say the least, fully equal those pro- 
duced in Europe. They will be happy to furnish gentlemen 



interested in the subject of wood preservation with any- 
further information they may require. 

Numerous testimonials from gentlemen of well known 
scientific and practical ability will be found appended, and 
attention is called to their unqualified endorsement of the 
Bethell creosoting process. 

Communications made either by letter, or in person, at 
their office, No. 96 WALL STREET, will receive prompt 
attention. 



ABSTRACT OF A PAPER 

READ AT THE MEETING OF THE CHEMICAL SECTION AT THE 
PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY AT GLASGOW, BY 

Mr. p. M. Moir. 



This paper was specially written to explain the methods 
that have been and are now in use for the preservation of 
timber from decay by disease and exposure to the atmos- 
phere, or destruction by marine worms and insects. 

Timber when exposed to the action of the atmosphere 
is soon acted upon by damp. This is especially noticeable 
in all timber fixed in the ground. The action commences 
at the parts immediately above the surface of the ground, 
where the fibrous portions of the wood are softened by 
the moisture, mould and decay being produced. These are 
indicative of a sort of slow combustion which is set up by 
the alternations of wet and dry. This kind of wasting 
away is termed wet rot. Another and very destructive 
form of decay is termed dry rot. This goes on most rapidly 
where there is no circulation of air. It is believed by some 
persons to be caused by parasites ; but by others it is 
believed that the parasites only appear after the decompo- 
sition has set in, and that they appear and live to consume 
the materials which by their accumulation might render 
the earth and air unsuited to the essential conditions of 
life and health. There is some probability that dry rot is 
the result of the felling of timber while it is full of sap, 
that is, between the end of spring and the beginning of 
autumn. Another familiar form of disease is that which is 



Caused by the termite or white ant. This creature's 
operations prove very destructive in India, Ceylon, Brazil, 
and most tropical countries. Its attacks are most ravenous 
on all wood buildings, railway sleepers, and bridges, even 
though the constructive material be lignum-vitae, one of 
the hardest and most durable of woods. 

When timber is used in marine structures the destructive 
agents are greater enemies than decay by dry or wet rot. 
There are two of them which are the best known among 
salt water destructive agents, and are very ruinous to all 
wood erections which are unprotected from their ravages 
either chemically or mechanically. They are the teredo 
navalis^ or ship-worm, and the limnoria terebrans. The 
teredo is a long worm-shaped creature, which perforates 
timber, generally, in the direction of the grain, but some- 
times across the grain with many windings. When a knot 
is met with or the shell of another teredo, the creature 
accommodates itself to circumstances by bending from its 
original course. In a fir pile taken from the old pier of 
Southend, a worm was found two feet long and three- 
quarters of an inch in diameter. Some have been seen 
three and even four feet long, and one inch in diameter. 
The teredo grows very rapidly, and its ravages are often 
very terrible on ships, piles, &c. The teredo is not nearly 
so prevalent on the Scottish coast as in the South of 
England, and on the coasts of France and Holland, where 
unprotected timber is readily destroyed. 

The limnoria terebrans is very abundant around the Brit- 
ish shores. Its ravages were first particularly observed in 
the year i8io, by the late Mr. Robert Stephenson, engin- 
eer of the Bell Rock Lighthouse. The limnoria very 
much resembles a woodlouse, and is about i-6 inch in 



length. It is gregarious, and in situations favorable for 
the exercise of its habits it soon produces great effects on 
the wood to which it attaches itself. By boring in all 
directions it so disintegrates the wood as to allow the sea 
to wash away its surface, and thus layer after layer of the 
wood is riddled by the borer, and then abraded by the 
sea, until the whole piece of timber attached is completely 
destroyed. 

Various opinions have been entertained regarding the 
mode in which the limnoria perforates and destroys tim- 
ber, but the opinion expressed by Dr. Coldstream, after 
very careful observation, seems to be the most worthy of 
credence. He states that the animal effects its work by 
the use of its mandibles, and it seems that it is necessary 
that the hole should be filled with salt water. The dis- 
tance bored is from one to two inches long, and as the 
hole increases in size the animal leaves its old workings 
and begins new ones. 

All kinds of timber in the unprepared state, except 
greenheart, are readily devoured by the limnoria, if used 
in harbor works not exposed to the influence of fresh or 
river water. Greenheart is not molested by the animal 
at all, but every other kind of wood is attacked immedi- 
ately that it is put into the sea, whether afloat or fixed, 
but more readily if fixed. The boring is generally lim- 
ited to that portion which is between two-thirds flood and 
the bed of the sea or estuary. The rate at Vv^hich the 
limnoria bores into wood in pure salt water, is said to 
be about one inch in a twelve-month ; but instances have 
occurred in which the destruction has been much more 
rapid. At Greenock, for instance, a pile of twelve inches 
square was eaten through in seven years. The limnoria 



10 

cannot live in fresh water ; hence it is not found doing 
any damage in the Clyde higher than Port-Glasgow. 

Greenheart timber in its natural state is the only wood 
now in use for harbor works that is proof against the at- 
tacks of marine creatures, and those of the white ant in 
tropical countries. There are two reasons why it enjoys 
this immunity from attack : first, there is its great hard- 
ness ; and, secondly, there is the presence of a large 
quantity of essential oil. It is a very hard and durable 
wood, weighing about 75 lbs. to the cubic foot, and having 
a specific gravity of 1.089, so that it is a little heavier 
than water. It is brought from Demerara. Great care 
is required in working it, as it is very liable to split. 
In sawing, it is necessary to have all the logs bound 
tightly with chains, failing which precaution, the log would 
break up into splinters, and be very apt to injure the men 
working it. 

The author then proceeded to discuss the various me- 
chanical and chemical methods that have been employed 
to preserve timber from natural decay or from the de- 
struction effected by living creatures. The mechanical 
methods are wholly employed for marine purposes, and 
are the oldest in use. One of these consists in covering 
piles, between high and low-water mark, with flat-headed 
iron nails, the heads being about one inch in diameter, 
and the nails being driven so close that the heads touch, 
but do not overlap each other. This method is expensive. 
both on account of the materials emplo}^ed and time 
required in the operation ; and besides this, it is very 
inefficient, as the nails readily corrode, and leave room for 
the attacks of the living enemies. Another plan is to 
cover the piles or other submerged timber witli sheets of 



11 

zinc or copper. This also is an efficient means of pro- 
tection. 

For the preservation of wood by means of chemical pre- 
parations, although many patents have been taken out, not 
more than six have been worked commercially. In all cases 
these patents were obtained for the use of solutions of 
certain chemical compounds, as preservative agents. The 
names of the patentees and the most valuable compounds 
employed are shown in the following table : 

Kyan 1832 Chloride of mercury. 

Marg-ary 1837 Sulphate of copper. 

Bethell 1838 } ^ , v u -i 

Bethell 1848 I Creosote or pitch oil. 

Burnett 1838)^,, .■, r . 

Burnett ^ ^g^^ [ Chloride of zmc. 

Boucherie 1839 Pyrolignite of iron. 

Boucherie 1846 Sulphate of copper. 

Payne 1841 Sulphate of iron. 

Payne 1 846 Carbonate of soda. 

The methods employed practically in working these 
patents were three in number, namely ; steeping, vital 
suction, and pressing in close vessels. Kyan and Margary 
employed the first-mentioned method ; Boucherie employed 
the second ; and Payne, Burnett and Bethell employed the 
third, which was also latterly adopted by Boucherie. 

The author described each patented process at some 
length, mentioning hoAV it is carried out, the advantages 
and disadvantages in each case, and the conditions under 
which it has any practical benefit. In no case did the 
evidence, regarding the value of the process, seem to equal 
that in favor of the creosoting process, at all events, if the 
timber is to be exposed to the weather or to be used in 
structural works, which are subjected to the action of either 
fresh water or salt water. 



12 

Kyanizing, or injecting corrosive sublimate (chloride of 
mercury) into timber, is very expensive, if properly done ; 
and besides this, there is the fact that it is practically 
useless,' inasmuch as it has been found that kyanized piles, 
after three years immersion in the sea, did not co7itain a 
trace of the preservative compound. 

Sulphate of copper, first suggested as a preservative 
agent by Margary, and afterwards employed largely by 
Boucherie, may be used to prevent dry rot in timber ; but 
for piers, bridges, railway sleepers, and other structures 
which are exposed to the action of water, it has no prac- 
tical value, as the water dissolves out the salt with great 
rapidity. Timber prepared with this salt, and used for 
marine purposes, is as readily destroyed by tJie teredo and the 
limnoria as unprepared timber. 

In Payne's process, solution of sulphate of iron is first 
absorbed into the wood, and afterwards carbonate of soda. 
Double decomposition ensues, and the practical result is 
the formation of oxide of iron, the deposition of which 
renders wood brittle, and does not prevent the attacks oi 
either of the animals just named. 

Of Sir William Burnett's chloride of zinc process, the 
author could say nothing from personal experience. The 
essential part of the chemical action of the compound is 
the formation of an insoluble coagulum with the albumen 
of the wood. It is claimed for the Burnett process that it 
renders wood proof against the attacks of the white ants 
in India; and wood for in-door purposes is permanently 
improved by it. 

Bethell's patent process for preserving timber, by the use 
of creosote pitch oil, is the only one which really accom- 
plishes the object aimed at, although many patents for the 



13 

use of oleaginous substances had been secured prior to the 
year 1838, with the same object in view. Creosote acts very 
powerfully in coagulating the albumen contained in the 
cells of the wood, and besides this, it effectually preserves 
the fibre of the timber, and hence its value over all other 
so-called preservative agents. 

For land purposes, the amount of oil recommended is 
eight lbs. to the cubic foot of wood, and for marine pur- 
poses, from 10 to 12 lbs. . per cubic foot. In France, 
Belgium, and Holland, the quantity used varies from 16 lbs. 
to 26 lbs. per cubic foot, when the timber is intended for 
marine works. Beech wood has absorbed as much as 31 
lbs. of oil per cubic foot, and when used for railway plat- 
forms or harbor works, it is doubtless the cheapest and 
most durable material that can be used. 

Creosote (or pitch oil as it is more commonly called in 
Scotland) is obtained in the distillation of coal tar, the 
other ingredients being ammoniacal hquor, crude naphtha, 
and the residual pitch. The coal tar of Scotch gas works, 
generally yields about 25 per cent of oil, which distils over 
at temperatures ranging from 400*^ to 700° Fahr. ; in Eng- 
land, however, the amount is only about 20 per cent. The 
author estimates the annual yield of pitch oil, in Scotland, 
at one million gallons, almost the whole of which is used 
for creosoting purposes. It is probable that creosote owes 
its valuable antiseptic property to the presence in it of 
from 5 to 14 per cent of crude carboHc acid, but which 
could not be used by itself for out-door purposes, as it 
is slightly soluble in water. 

According to Dr. Letheby, creosote acts as a preservative 
agent in the following ways : 

1st. It coagulates albuminous substances and gives 



14 

stability to the constituents of the cambium and cellulose 
of the young wood. 

2d. It absorbs and appropriates the oxygen which is 
within the pores of the wood, and so checks, or rather 
prevents, the eremacausis of the ligneous tissues. 

3d. It resinifies within the pores of the wood, and in 
this way shuts out both air and moisture. 

4th. It acts as a positive poison to the lower forms of 
animal and vegetable life, and so protects the wood from 
the attacks of fungi, acari, and other parasites. 

Since the creosoting process was first introduced in the 
year 1838, it has been extensively employed in Great 
Britain and Ireland ; in all countries on the Continent 
where creosote oil can be obtained — France, Holland, Bel- 
gium, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Italy ; and in India, 
Cape Colony, Brazil, and other tropical countries, to pre- 
serve timber from the attacks of the white ant. Wherever 
it has been properly carried out, it has been completely 
successful. 

For harbor works, in Scotland, the creosoting process 
has been largely used. At Leith, the west pier, consist- 
ing of 1,013 main piles, is entirely constructed of creo- 
soted timber, and the extension of the east pier contains 
312 main piles, also creosoted. These erections were 
commenced in 1848, and finished in 1853, and at the pres- 
ent time they are as perfectly sound as the first day they 
were put down. The gates of the new dock now being 
constructed at that port, are made of creosoted pine, 
bound with greenheart timber, the quantity of oil used 
being 10 lbs. per cubic foot. At Port-Glasgow and Green- 
ock, timber prepared by the Bethell process, is largely 
used, and the same is true of nearly every port of Eng- 



15 

land. Much attention has been given to the creosoting 
process by the Belgian Government, and so satisfactory 
have the experiments been that no other process is used 
by that government. Very full and interesting accounts 
of the Belgian experiments upon the creosoting process, 
have been prepared by M. L. Crepin, ingenieur des Fonts 
et Chaussees, especially in " Annalles des Travaux Publics 
de Belgique," vol. xxi, 1864. M. Crepin affirms that wood 
retains all its former elasticity in the creosoted state, and 
acquires a density which it did not possess in the un- 
prepared condition. M. A. Forestier, engineer-in-chief for 
the department of La Vendee, made a very minute and 
elaborate report for the Paris Exhibition of 1867, on the 
creosoting process and experiments made with it on tim- 
ber used in both land and marine works in France ; and 
in that country the process is also largely employed. 

DR. URE, IN HIS ''DICTIONARY OF ARTS, MANUFACTURES 
AND MINES," 

says, in regard to creosoting, that it '' consists in impreg- 
nating wood throughout with oil of tar and other bitu- 
minous matters containing creosote, and also with pyrol- 
ignite of iron, which holds more creosote in solution than 
any other watery menstruum. 

^' The effect produced is that of perfectly coagulating 
the albumen in the sap, thus preventing its putrefaction. 
For the wood that will be much exposed to the weather, 
and alternately wet and dry, the mere coagulation of the 
sap is not sufficient ; for although the albumen contained 
in the sap of the wood is the most liable and the first 
to putrefy, yet the ligneous fibre itself, after it has been 



16 

deprived of all sap, will, when exposed in a warm, damp 
situation, rot and crumble into dust. To preserve wood, 
therefore, that will be much exposed to the weather, it is 
not only necessary that the sap should be coagulated, but 
that the fibres should be protected from moisture, which 
is effectually done by this process. 

" The atmospheric action on wood thus prepared, ren- 
ders it tougher, and infinitely stronger. A post made of 
beech, or even of Scotch fir, is rendered more durable, 
and as strong as one made of the best oak, the bitumin- 
ous mixture with which all its pores are filled acting as a 
cement to bind the fibres together in a close, tough mass : 
and the more porous the wood is, the more durable and 
tough it becomes, as it imbibes a greater quantity of the 
bituminous oil, which is proved by its increased weight. 
The materials which are injected preserve iron and other 
metals from corrosion ; and an iron bolt driven into wood 
so saturated, remains perfectly sound and free from rust. 
It also resists the attack of insects ; and it has been proved 
by Mr. Pritchard, at Shoreham Harbor, that the teredo 
navalis (or naval worm) will not touch it. 

'^ Wood thus prepared for sleepers, piles, posts, fencing, 
etc., is not at all affected by alternate exposure to wet and 
dry ; it requires no painting, and after it has been exposed 
to the air for some days, it loses every unpleasant smell. 

'' This process has been adopted by the following eminent 
engineers, viz : Mr. Robert Stephenson, Mr. Brunei, Mr. 
Bidder, Mr. Brathwaite, Mr. Buck, Mr. Harris, Mr. Wick- 
stead, Mr. Pritchard and others ; and has been used with 
the greatest success on the Great Western Railway, the 
Bristol & Exeter Railway, the Manchester & Birming- 
ham Railway, the Northeastern, the Southeastern, the 



17 

Stockton & Darlington, and at Shoreham Harbor ; and 
lately, in consequence of the excellent appearance of the 
prepared sleepers, after three years' exposure to the weather, 
an order has been issued by Mr. Robert Stephenson that 
the sleepers hereafter to be used on the London & Bir- 
mingham Railway are to be prepared with it before putting 

down. 

* -x- -Jf * * * 

"For railway sleepers it is highly useful, as the com- 
monest Scotch fir sleeper, when thus prepared, will last 
for centuries. Those which have been in use three years 
and upward, look much better now than when first laid 
down, having become harder, more consolidated, and per- 
fectly water-proof; which qualities, combined with that of 
perfectly resisting the worm, render this process eminently 
useful for piles, and all other woodwork placed under water. 

" Posts for gates or fencing, if prepared in this manner, 
may be made of Scotch fir, or the cheapest wood that can 
be obtained, and will not decay like oak posts, which in- 
variably become rotten near the earth after a few years." 



EXTRACTS 
FROM THE ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITTANICA. 

. Eighth Edition. 

*' Mr. Bethell's method of preparing wood for fences, rail- 
way sleepers, piles and other woodwork submerged in water, 
and for various similar purposes, is said to render timber of 
any description much tougher, and greatly to promote its 
durability. It also preserves iron bolts driven into it from 



18 

corrosion. Wood thus prepared has been used for sleepers 
on several of the great English railways, and is said to have 
proved extremely durable." — Vol. viii. page 213. 

"For the preservation of railway sleepers, and other 
woodwork out of doors, which is not particularly liable to 
danger from fires, the creosoting process has been found to 
be most valuable." * * * * * 

*• This substance seems, firstly, by coagulating the albu- 
men ; secondly, by furnishing a waterproof covering to the 
fibre of the wood ; and, thirdly, by preventing the putrefac- 
tion of the sap by its antiseptic properties." 

" The various processes for the preservation of timber by 
the absorption of metallic salts have all, more or less, failed 
in practice, and are now very generally abandoned. * * 
One great advantage of creosoted timber is that it perfectly 
resists the attack of marine worms and insects, as well as 
the white ant of India, which is more than can be said of 
timber prepared with solutions of metaUic salts." — Vol. 21, 
p. 279. 

" Creosote appears to preserve timber with greater cer^ 
tainty than any other chemical material yet used." — Vol. 20, 
p. 167. 



AUTHORITIES ON THE USE OF CREOSOTE OIL 
IN RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION. 

EUROPEAN. 

For the past thirty years, crude creosote oil has been 
extensively employed in Europe in the treatment of rail- 
way and dock timbers, as follows : 

IN ENGLAND, 
Upon the London & Northwestern, Southwestern, Great 



19 

Western, Great Eastern, Southeastern, Northeastern, Lon- 
don and Brighton, Lancashire & Yorkshire ; Manchester, 
Sheffield & Lincolnshire ; the Taff Vale; London, Chatham 
& Dover ; Midland, Great Northern, Furness Railway, 
Berwick Railway, Bristol & Exeter, Stockton & Darlington, 
etc., etc. 

IN SCOTLAND, 

On the Caledonian, Great Northern, Scottish Northeastern, 
Edinburgh & Glasgow, North British, Southwestern, Dundee 
& Perth, etc., etc. 

IN IRELAND, 

On the Great Southern & Western, the Midland, the 
Dublin & Drogheda, Dundalk & Enniskillen, etc., etc. 

IN BELGIUM, 

All sleepers on the State Railway (except oak) are required 
to be creosoted, and great care is taken to see that the sleepers 
absorb a large quantity of the oiL 

IN HOLLAND, 

The creosoting process has been adopted to the same 
extent as in Belgium. 

IN GERMANY AND PRUSSIA, 

Its use on railways is quite general ; and in India, Cape 
of Good Hope, Brazil, and other tropical countries, it is 
used to preserve timber from the white ant — and wherever 
properly used has been completely successful. Much of the 
timber on the above-mentioned railways has been down 
from twenty-five to thirty years, and is now as sound and 
free from decay as when first laid down. It is also found 
to have acquired extraordinary hardness and solidity, and 



20 

to have preserved from rust all the surfaces of the iron 
bolts and fastenings in contact with it. 

The. average duration of an uncreosoted fir sleeper being 
less than eight years, it will be seen that many creosoted 
fir sleepers upon English railways have already outlasted 
three sets of uncreosoted sleepers, and may yet outlast 
several more sets. The late Mr. Brunei expressed a confi- 
dent opinion that well-creosoted fir sleepers would be per- 
fectly sound after the lapse of forty years, and this opinion 
bids fair to be verified. 

FOR MARINE PIERS AND BREAKWATERS, 
Creosoting has enabled engineers to use ordinary Baltic 
timber (similar in character to American hemlock and 
spruce) freely in these constructions, with the greatest 
cheapness and absolute confidence in its durability. 

. THE BREAKWATER AND PIERS 
At Holyhead, Portland, Lowestoft, Great Grimsby, Leith, 
Plymouth, Wisbeach, Southampton, etc., etc., have been 
built with creosoted timber, and in no case have the teredo 
navaliSj limnoria terrebrans, or any other marine worms or 
insects, which rapidly devour unprepared wood, been found 
to destroy it. 

FOR TELEGRAPH POLES, 

Mine props, hop poles, and grapevine trellises, creosoted 
wood has been used with great success. 



21 



LETTER FROM MESSRS. JOHN BETHELL & CO., 
LONDON, ENG. 

38 King William street^ ) 

London Bridge^ E. C, yzcne 11, 1S74. i 

Messrs. J. G. Moore & Co., 96 Wall street, New York : 

Gentlemen : As it appears, you have never received ours 
of January 29th, in which we promptly answered yours of 
January 9th, we repeat it as follows : 

We can put 10 lbs. creosote per cubic foot into yellow pine, 
and have put I3 lbs. into some red fir, but this is rarely done. 
The usual quantity injected is 8 lbs for ordinary timber, and for 
timber exposed to the sea worm 10 lbs. Of white oak we have 
no experience, but we are creosoting French oak in Belgium 
and also oak from the Baltic. Into sleepers of such wood we 
put from 3 to 4 1-3 lbs., sometimes 5 lbs. 

We do not mix any substance with the creosote to render it 
more penetrating ; the more fluid it is the easier it is to inject. 

It is difficult to judge from such a diagram as you send, of 
the exact amount of penetration of the oil, but approximately 
we should say that No. i of the two is fairly creosoted, and 
that No. 3 is creosoted about as much as one could expect to 
creosote oak. It is impossible to drive the oil into the heart of 
the wood ; the sap of the wood is impregnated and a water- 
proof coating or envelope is thus formed which renders the 
wood impervious to air and moisture, the oil dissolves the resin 
of the sap and coagulates with its albumen, and follows in 
deeper in the course of time to the centre of the wood. It is of 
great importance that timber once creosoted should not be cut 
in any way. All timber should be cut to its shape before being 
creosoted, and all holes and scarfing made before putting the 
timber into the cylinders. 

In practice there is a very great difference between the quali- 
ties of creosote oil, some being much easier to work with than 
others. If thick oil is used it is necessary to use steam to melt 
it, and even then it is often difficult to force it into the timber. 
As to presen'ative properties, we are not aware that there is 
any marked difference between the various kinds of oil. Some 
chemists insist upon the oils containing 5 per cent of carbolic 



22 

acid (crude tar acids) ; but, as far as our experience goes, this 
constituent has very little chemical value as an antiseptic 
beyond that of other tar oils. Generally speaking the creosote 
oil we get in London comes from tar produced from Newcastle 
coal, and is a mass of viscid crystals, onl}^ to be got out by steam- 
ing or breaking open the cask. On the other hand, oils from 
Scotland and the Midland and Western Districts of England are 
very fluid. 

With regard to price, creosote is very dear and difficult to 
obtain since the British Government has definitely adopted the 
process for its telegraph poles. You would have to pay 5d., 
f. o. b., Liverpool, per gallon for the 1,500 to 2,000 barrels. 
We have at present no information as to freight from Liverpool 
to New York, but if you think you would be disposed to pay 
anything like that price, we will see what can be done on hear- 
ing from you again. We do not quote this as an exact price ; 
creosote is an article liable to great fluctuations, and in a few 
weeks time little more can be obtained for delivery before 
autumn. 

We have assumed that you do not require any evidence as to 
the value of creosoting as a preservative. We have lately, since 
the adoption of the process by all the government and railway 
engineers, ceased to collect evidence, but we shall always be 
very happy to send you any which has come in our way. 

We are, gentlemen, 

Yours faithfully, 

John Bkthell & Co. 



LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE RAILWAY. 

Storekeeper's Office^ Miles Platting^ 

Manchester^ February 27, 1S74. 



D. M. Owen, Esq. : 

Dear Sir: The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Com- 
pany commenced creosoting in 1846, and we have now sleepers 
on our road marked with a X over tne end, to distinguish them 
in future years, that were laid in that year. They have worn 
well and show no symptoms of decay as yet. I have given 
this matter my particular attention, and I thoroughly believe in 
the efficacy of the process, and cause all our timber, such as 
sleepers, longitudinal and crossing timber, to be so treated. I 
endeavor to force into the timber 8 to 9 lbs. of creosote per 
cubic foot, under a pressure, say, of 140 lbs. to the square inch, 



23 

continued for three or four hours. I think you had better note, 
that when the door of our cylinder (which is 75 feet in length 
and 6 feet in diameter) is closed we exhaust the air and form a 
vacuum. We then open a valve, and the reservoir being 
underneath, the creosote rushes up into the cylinder and nearly 
half fills it. It takes up a little air in the action, and we then 
put on our force pumps and fill it, and continue till it blows off 
at the safety valve a stream as large as a man's wrist, which 
lasts the length of time previously named. This, with Baltic 
or American red timber, should cause the sleeper to absorb 27 
to 30 lbs. of creosote. Size of sleeper, three-and-a-quarter 
cubic feet. Sappy timber will absorb more than heart, but is 
equally durable and will not decay. 

I have followed this practice in longitudinal and buffer timber, 
piles for wharves, etc., and if the timber is in very large squares 
I get my joiner to bore a hole in the pipe of the wood, at the 
end, say two feet or more, to allow the creosote to force its way 
to the interior of the timber, and I have never known, up to 
the present time, any to fail. 

You stated that your friends expect that we should force the 
creosote through and through. This cannot be done, and is 
not necessary; but after a piece of timber has been tanked, 
cross-cut it, say a foot from the end, and place it in the hot sun 
for a few days. You will then see how far the lighter parts of 
the creosote have filtered towards the centre. 

I should say, from experience, that there is no fear of any 
decay, as nothing can live near it. I have frequently noticed, 
when our platelayers have thrown off black sleepers into the 
water courses or drains that all life has been destroyed, and 
frogs, worms, and insects of all kinds, might be seen dead in 
the water. 

If your people wish to have the timber more thoroughly 
impregnated you will require to continue the pressure much 
longer than I have named, which will, of course, make it more 
expensive. 

For your information, I may state that this company have 
tanked, under my superintendence, over 1,500,000 sleepers, 
besides longitudinal and crossing timber, and if the process 
has only prolonged the life of the timber by one-half, I think I 
have saved the company a considerable amount of money. 

When at my office you stated that you would like to have one 
of the paving blocks that I had that day taken up out of the 
floor of our turning shop, and which had been there, exposed 
to both wet and dry, under the lathes and grindstones for 26 
years. This you can have with pleasure, and it will ^ive your 
friends a very good idea of the use and value of creosote. I 
will also send you a piece of a sleeper, cut from some still in 



24: 

use in our long tunnel, and which are reported by our engineer 
to be sound and good, although they have been in the road 26 
years. 

If you will write to me and state by what conveyance you 
would like to have the two samples sent to America, I will 
forward them with great pleasure, and hope that they may be 
of service to you and railways generally. 

Trusting that this information may be what you require and 
to your satisfaction. 

I remain, dear sir, yours very sincerely, 

R. J. Badge. 

Mechanical Engineer and Storekeeper Lancashire and 
Yorkshire Railway Co. 



MIDLAND GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY, OF IRE- 
LAND. 

Permanent Way and Royal Canal Departments^ \ 

Engineers^ Offices^ Broad Stone Station^ > 

Dublin., February 19, 1874. ) 

D. M. Owen, Esq., Gresham Hotel, Dublin : 

Dear Sir: Relative to your inquiries as to the merits of 
creosoted timber, I would state for your information the result 
of my experience of very many years, and upon different rail- 
ways in this country. The object of the creosoting process is 
to impregnate the pores of the sap-wood of those timbers 
which have naturally enduring heart-wood, such as the pinus 
sylvestus^ from whence our memel timber is derived, and 
oak. The pores of the heart-wood are charged either with 
resin or other preservatives, which prevent the admission of 
the creosote, and indeed render it unnecessary ; other timbers 
such as beech and silver fir are all through of the nature of sap- 
wood, and will take up a large quantity of creosote, as all the 
pores have to be filled. 

In creosoting timber so as to be effective, the points to be 
attended to are as follow : Cut, shape and bore your timber 
first, then the pores having been emptied by exhaustion, force 
in as much creosote as will fill them. Afterward let the timber 
be stacked for sufficient time to allow the creosote to combine 
with the timber, and thoroughly harden. My experience in 
railway sleepers thus prepared is, that decay which commences 



25 

in the sap-wood and infects the heart-wood is entirely pre- 
vented, and the timber lasts at least twice as long as if unpre- 
pared. I use a moderately black oil. Believe me, 

Yours faithfully, 

James Price, Chief- Enginer. 



STONY ROAD CREOSOTING WORKS. 

Dublin^ February 20, 1874. 
D. M. Owen, Esq. : 

Dear Sir: With reference to your inquiries as regards 
creosoting railway sleepers my experience is that from 7 to 8 
lbs. to the cubic foot of wood is all that is required of oil, and 
is all that is exacted by the railway companies here. This 
quantity will thoroughly creosote the sap-wood when the 
lighter kinds of oil are used. We are now working for the 
Dublin & Drogheda Railway. I shall be happy to show you 
the process we adopt should you call upon me. 

Very truly yours, 

John Berry, Civil Engineer, 



22 Eden ^uay^ Dublin, February 20, 1874. 

Dear Sir: The quantity of oil we are required by the 
engineers of the Dublin & Drogheda Railway to use is, 

7X lbs. per cubic foot for half-round 10 x 5 sleepers. 
6X " " " half-square 12x6 

This impregnates and dissolves the sap-wood, and its influence 
extends in a more modified way to the heart-wood. Sleepers 
prepared in this way resist the effects of climate and are not 
subject to decay. The sleepers are of red-wood {pinus sylves- 
tus) from the Baltic, chiefly from Russia and Prussia, and are 
9 feet in length. 

Yours faithfully, 

Patrick Mason. 
D. M. Owen, Esq., New York. 



26 

Blue Pits^ Manchester^ March 2, 1874. 

D. M. Owen, Esq., Langham Hotel, London : 

Dear Sir: In answer to yours of the 27th ult. I would state 
that my experience in creosoting timber for railway purposes, 
bridge timbers, etc., dates from 1864, and my experience con- 
vinces me of the great benefit derived from the use of the pro- 
cess. We have on our road at the present time some sleepers 
which were creosoted in 1848 which are to-day as sound as 
when first put in the road. The effect seems to be to impreg- 
nate the pores of the sap-wood or the outward formation of 
the timber, and by preventing decay in that portion of the 
wood (from whence it would otherwise proceed), preserve the 
whole of the timber. In answer to your inquiry as to whether 
decay would not be likely to commence in the heart-wood or 
the unimpregnated portion of the treated wood, and internal 
rot result, I would state as the result of my experience that 
decay does not commence in heart-wood ; that it proceeds from 
the sap-wood, and that the contaminating influence of the latter 
is what occasions the rotting of timber. In case the heart- wood 
is affected by decay before the creosoting process is applied, the 
oil, as will be readily seen, would easily penetrate to the 
infected spot and prevent its further spread on account of the 
timber being much less firm in texture wherever decay has 
commenced. I get in the timber vs^hich I creosote from 5 to 
10 lbs. of oil per cubic foot, the quantity varying more or less 
in proportion as the timber is more or less porous. The proper 
method of applying the oil is to enclose the timber in an air- 
tight iron tank, made strong enough to withstand a pressure of 
from 120 to 140 lbs. per square inch ; then to obtain a vacuum 
by pumping the air from the tank, and finally admitting the oil 
slightly warmed, and applying the pressure mentioned above 
by force pump. The effect will be to impregnate the wood 
to a depth varying from one to three inches, as can be 
seen by boring, or to a depth equal to that of the sappy forma- 
tion of the timber. In the course of time the oil penetrates 
more deeply in the wood, sometimes reaching the centre. Any 
further information you may require on this subject I will be 
happy to give you. 

Very truly yours, 

Henry Gee, 

Superintendent of Creosotiiig Works^ 

La7icashire <& Yorkshire Railway^ 

Blue Pits^ Manchester, 



27 

CHICAGO, BURLINGTON AND QUINCY RAILROAD. 

Car and Building Department^ ) 

Superi7itendenf s Office^ Aurora^ yune 5, 1874. S 

R. Harris, Esq., General Superintendent: 

The first platforms laid with plank treated with dead oil 
were at Montgomery and Oswego, five years ago last winter. 
They appear to be as sound as when first laid. 

We also extended the platforms at Galra and Leland the 
summer following, which are also in good condition. 

There were also a lot of ties put in the Aurora yard six 
years ago last fall, which are as sound as the day they were 
laid. 

From these experiments, I am satisfied that the dead oil 
treatment is a pretty sure preventive against decay. 

Yours truly, 

W. W. Wilcox. 



CHICAGO, BURLINGTON AND QUINCY RAILROAD. 

Car and Building Department^ ) 

Atcrora^ October 6, 1874. ^ 

Page, Kidder & Fletcher, New York : 

Gents : The planks for the platforms refen^ed to in my letter 
of June 5th, were white pine. We also treated quite a large 
quantit}^ of yellow Norway pine for car flooring. The ties treated 
were principally hemlock. There were also quite a quantity of 
oak ties treated. 

Yours truly, 

W. W. Wilcox. 



LETTER FROM MR. G. S. PAGE, OF NEW YORK, 

Giving Results of his Observation and Information obtained 
recently in Europe. 

New York, May 28, 1870. 

Sir : In reply to your inquiries concerning the preserva- 
tion of wood in Europe, I beg to say that one of the principal 
objects of my recent trip abroad was to obtain full and accurate 
information upon this most important subject. 

My investigations were conducted in England, Scotland, 



28 

Ireland, France, Belgium, Prussia, Russia, and Austria, and 
were continued for nearly four months. 

I found that but three processes have ever met with any 
favor or been used to any extent, viz. : Kyanizing, Burnettizing, 
and Creosoting. The first named is the term applied to the 
injection into the pores of the wood of a solution of corrosive 
sublimate ; the second is a similar use of chloride of zinc, and 
the latter is the application of crude creosote oil or the heavy 
oil of coal tar. With but a single exception, I found that the 
material now universally used was crude creosote oil, it hav- 
ing been proved to be a perfect preventive of decay and the 
only material that fully accomplishes that result. 

The principal uses to which creosoting was applied were for 
railroad ties, telegraph and hop poles, fencing, piles and dock 
timber, and lumber used in coal and iron mines. 

On several of the roads I traveled over, I found creosoted 
ties were already over twenty years in use, and still sound as 
when first laid. 

Baltic fir — a timber resembling American hemlock — is gen- 
erally employed for ties in Europe. When creosoted, it lasts 
without decay as above stated ; while, uncreosoted, it decays in 
from three to four years. 

The spikes driven into these creosoted ties show no corrosion 
whatever after this lapse of time, and the rail is consequently 
held more firmly to the tie. 

I found the density of the wood much increased by the 
action of the oil, the fir ties acquiring almost the density of 
our oak. 

The use of these creosoted Bakic ties is almost universal 
upon the following, among other roads, which I observed, 
many of which have a heavier and more constant traffic than 
the average of American railroads, viz. : Lancashire & York- 
shire ; London & Northwestern ; London, Chatham & Dover ; 
Midland ; Dublin & Drogheda : Midland Great Western, of 
Ireland ; Great Southern, of Ireland ; Great Northern, of 
France ; and the railways composing the lines from Paris to St. 
Petersburg, via Cologne and Berlin ; Berlin to Vienna, via 
Dresden and Prague ; Vienna to Paris, via Munich and Stras- 
bourg ; and Paris to Brussels. 

Creosote oil, in the treatment of wood, was first employed in 
1838, and has grown rapidly in favor until, at the present day, 
it is adopted all over Europe, and is recommended by the most 
eminent engineers and scientific men. Indeed, creosoted tim- 
ber is the rule in railroad construction, and native wood the 
exception. 

The next use in importance of creosoted wood was in the 
construction of piers, docks, breakwaters, etc. ; and here it is 



29 

found to be the only infallible protection against the ravages of 
the teredo navalis^ that dreaded marine worm. 

Piles sheathed with copper and iron, or studded with flat 
nails, have been employed from time to time in marine works ; 
but even those costly means have been found to be no safe- 
guard against the worm. But creosoted timber has so perfectly 
answered its purpose that it is now exclusively employed in 
works of this character. Marine worms of all kinds fail to 
make the least impression upon it. It is a poison to them, and 
at the same time the wood neither checks nor decays above 
water. 

My observation on this class of structures was quite exten- 
sive ; and in no case has properly creosoted wood, so employed, 
failed to give complete satisfaction. 

The usual quantity of creosote oil required in marine struc- 
tures is from six to nine pounds per cubic foot. 

My extended observation abroad, of the actual results of 
creosoting wood, and the experience of engineers with whom 
I have communicated, has satisfied me that this subject has 
passed out of the region of theory and experiment, and is now 
a practical fact. Creosote oil is the only efficient material to 
accomplish the result, and is actually the only one used in 
operations of any importance. 

I send you herewith some sections of railway ties, by which 
you will see the sound condition of creosoted wood after twenty- 
three years' service. They are average specimens. I also send 
copies of some letters I have received from Mr. Badge and 
others, upon this subject, which but express the opinion of the 
leading railway managers whom I met. 

I must say, in conclusion, that an experience so thorough 
and exhaustive, with results so satisfactory, should be accepted 
as sufficient, and that we should await for no similar experi- 
ments here to convince us of the economy, as well as practica- 
bility, of preserving our timber by the use of cresote oil. 

Yours, etc., 

George Shepard Page. 



YORKSHIRE AND LANCASHIRE RAILWAY. 

Manchester^ August 14, 1865. 

Dear Sir: I commenced creosoting timber in 1846, and 
for some months marked the ends of the sleepers with a V 



30 

tool. Some thousands were so done in order that I might the 
more readily watch them, and trace the result.* 

Last month I visited a portion of the line which had been 
laid with these sleepers in 1846, and I am glad to be able to 
report that the whole are tx^ fresh and sound as when jirst laid 
dowji^ not the least signs of decay being afparent. 

During a period extending over upwards of nineteen years I 
have creosoted about one million of sleepers, and large quanti- 
ties of timber of various kinds, and from all my experience, 
gained during that time, I would strongly recommend to be 
creosoted all timber to be placed in exposed situations, such as 
sleepers, telegraph posts, lamp posts, fencing, etc. 

I remain, dear sir, yours very truly, 

R. J. Badge. 

P. S. — The creosoted road generally wears out three or four 
sets of rails in, as well as out of, tunnels ; and when the main 
line is relaid, and such sleepers are taken out, ^hey are used 
again for sidings and branches. I find that about one per cent 
get split at the ends, and so rendered useless for their original 
purpose, but they are then sold for gate posts, fencing, etc., and 
are much sought after. 



Storekeeper's Office^ Manchester^ Feb. 3, 1870. 

G. S. Page, Esq. : 

Dear Sir : In accordance with my promise, I have sent you 
a small hamper, containing three or four sample ends of creo- 
soted sleepers, which were tanked under my superintendence 
in the year 1846. I have sent you two ends marked with a 
X, thus — one shows the solid heart of the wood ; the larger 
one shows a proportion of sap, which is equally well preserved 
as the hearty one. Note that sappy timber takes much more 
creosote than the heart, or solid timber, on account of the 
pores of the wood being more open. The two unmarked 
pieces is the next cut to the one with a X? to enable you to 
see what a pressure can effect by filling the pores. I should 
recommend ten pounds per cubic foot to each sleeper — that is, 
if the sleeper is three feet, there should be three gallons in 
each. I do not think I have anything more that I can com- 
municate to you at present, but I may remark that some three 
years ago some of the leading lines discontinued creosoting. I 

* These sleepers are now in use and perfectly sound, as will be seen by the 
letter which follows. Sections of these sleepers, which are also referred to in Mr. 
Badge's letter of February 3, 1870, can be seen at our offices. 



31 

have just received a letter, stating that some of the uncreo- 
soted sleepers that had been recently laid are showing strong 
symptoms of decay, and I believe Mr. Bethell's orders are be- 
coming pressing. I believe that all our railway companies will 
see the great benefit that must arise from the use of creosote. 
Should you require any further information, you can write to 
me, and I shall be most happy to afford it at any time. 

Yours very truly, 

R. J. Badge. 

Manchester^ Eng.. Feb. 24, 1874. 
Messrs. Page, Kidder & Fletcher, New York : 

Gentlemen : We have just cut pieces from sleepers of 
those on the down line of the Summit Tunnel, which were 
laid twenty-six (26) years ago next Christmas ; the pieces are 
sound, hard and as fresh as when laid, and all are in the same 
condition. 

There is a great advantage in creosoting timber for sleepers, 
in the fact that iron spikes do not corrode or rust, and I believe 
the fibre of the timber is strengthened by the process. Sleep- 
ers, after being in use for many years, are worn only by the 
chairs — all such I am selling in large quantities to collier}^ pro- 
prietors and others for sidings and fences, for fronts of stations, 
drains and many other purposes, at 2s. and 2s'. 3d. each. They 
are much sought after and scarce. We may almost say there 
is no end to them, unless they are burned. I have superin- 
tended the creosoting of over one ^nillion Jive hundred thou- 
sa7zd sleepers, besides longitudinal and crossing timbers ; these 
timbers will resist worms, wind or rain, and lie, like a brick, 
not subject to decay. 

I took up a couple of paving blocks, that have been in our 
turning shop under grindstones and lathes, exposed to wet and 
dry for twenty-six years : they are in perfect condition, show- 
ing no signs of decay. 

Respectfully, 

R. J. Badge, 

Mechanical Engineer Lancashire (& Yorkshire Railway. 



MIDLAND AND GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY OF 

IRELAND. 

Engineer' s Office^ January 8, 1870. 

Dear Sir : In reply to your inquiries as to my experience 
of the practice of creosoting sleepers, I beg to state that I have 



32 

seen this mode of preparation in use for the last fourteen years, 
and that I have employed it myself on the railways under my 
charge for the last nine years, and that I am now using it ex- 
tensively in the renewal and repairs of this system of railways, 
having a mileage of nearly four hundred miles. We have pur- 
chased sixty thousand sleepers of red Baltic fir, creosoted 
according to the specifications within, during the past year. 
My opinion is, that all timber having sap-wood to any extent, 
requires this process ; the sap-wood is thus converted into a 
hard waterproof covering instead of a decomposing mass ; — in 
the former case, the heart-wood is protected ; in the latter, 
decay is favored. I have seen home-grown limber of soft fir 
and chestnut, which had been down for over ten years, so hard 
and compact on the surface that a knife could not penetrate it, 
and I believe the sleepers I then saw will last ten years longer. 
I have never yet seen on any railway in Ireland (several of 
which I have been employed to report on) a single decayed 
creosoted sleeper. Where timber contains no sap-wood (unless 
spruce, other white deals, and beech, all of which require creo- 
soting), such as memel or hard larch, grown on stony ground, 
it is unnecessary to use creosote ; the oil will not enter the 
pores already filled with resin. With the timber under proper 
pressure, the oil will penetrate longitudinally the whole ring 
of sap-wood — so that it will be found in the centre of the 
length of the sleeper, as well as at the ends. A sleeper, 
with a ring of one and a half inches of sap-wood, will take 
up from seven to ten pounds of oil per cubic foot of timber 
(counting heart and sap). 

Believe me, dear sir, 

Yours faithfully, 

James Price. 
To G. S. Page, Esq., New York. 



DUBLIN AND DROGHEDA RAILWAY. 

Engineer'' s Departinent^ Dublin^ Jan. 7, 1870. 

George S. Page, Esq., Shelbourne Hotel : 

Dear Sir : The sleepers used on this line for nine years are 
almost exclusively red-wood, from the Baltic, either 12x6 or 
10x5, and nine feet long. For about the last six or seven 
years, all have been creosoted with not less than seven pounds 
of oil, and commonly much more, to the cubic foot. I have 
not yet found in the line an unsound creosoted sleeper that I 
had not reason to know was unsound before being creosoted ; 
and even in such a case, the creosoting seemed to have the 



33 

effect of stopping the decay. The cost at ptesent to us of 
creosoting is one shilling per sleeper for joints (12x6), and 
eight pence half-penny per sleeper (10 x 5) for middles. Lines 
that can rot out their sleepers, such as this, have great advan- 
tage from creosoting ; but there are lines, the rails of which, 
from being unsteady on the sleeper, chafe them, to whom creo- 
sote is of no value, because their sleepers wear out instead of 
lasting long enough to rot. I send you a pamphlet sent to me 
years ago by Mr. Bethell, which you may find useful. 

Yours very truly, 

Marcus Harty. 



LONDON AND NORTHWESTERN RAILWAY. 

Permanent Way Depart?nent^ ) 

Head Office^ Stafford^ yuly 17, 1856. / 

Sir: In answer to your letter requesting information (for 
the use of the Commissioners of the Exposition about to be 
opened at Brussels) as to the success of your creosoting pro- 
cess in preserving railway sleepers, I have to inform you that 
about seventeen miles of the railway from Manchester to 
Crewe, belonging to this company, are. laid with creosoted 
American fir sleepers. Part of these were laid in 1840, and 
the rest in 1842, since which time we have not had one instance 
in which decay has been detected in these creosoted sleepers ; 
and upon our relaying the line, we have used over again all the 
old creosoted sleepers that were not split, instead of new 
sleepers. 

Yours truly, 

Henry Woodhouse. 



BRISTOL AND EXETER RAILWAY. 

Bridge-water^ August 28, 1856. 

Sir: I have, for the last seven to eight years, been con- 
stantly engaged as superintendent over the carpenters employed 
in keeping in repair the wood bridges on the Bristol & Exeter 
Railway. 

In many of these bridges, a great deal of your creosoted 
timber was used, which has been in use now upward of four- 
teen years, and I can testify that every piece of creosoted wood 
in them is now perfectly sound and free from decay. 

Your obedient servant, 

John Dyer. 



34 

GREAT EASTERN RAILWAY. 

Great Eastern, Railway^ July i6, 1856. 

Sir: I have been fourteen years engaged in superintending 
the permanent way of the Eastern Counties Railway, near 
Burnt Mill Station, and have during the whole of that time 
constantly observed the creosoted Scotch fir sleepers laid down 
there in May, 1840. 

I can fully testify that the whole of those sleepers are now as 
sound and perfect as when laid down, and the creosote oil 
seems as fresh in them now as ever. 

I have sent you herewith some specimens of those sleepers, 
and all the sleepers are as good as these specimens. 

, I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

Samuel Dawson. 



DUTCH-RHENISH RAILWAY. 

Driebergen^ April ^^ 1858. 

Sir: In answer to your inquiry relative to the timber pre- 
pared according to your process, the so-called " Creosoting 
Process," I beg to inform you that in the year 1844, during the 
construction of our line, 10,561 cubic metres of timber were 
creosoted at Utrecht, and laid between Utrecht and Veenendaal, 
the oil for which, distilled and delivered by you, has proved of 
the best quality. 

In 1855-57, with the extension of our line to Germany, in 
connection with the Cologne & Minden Railway, and conse- 
quent alteration to the narrow gauge, the timber creosoted and 
laid in 1844 was taken up and found as sound and perfect as 
when first laid, and consequently used over again, while 
uncreosoted timber close by has been obliged to be renewed 
two or three times during the same period. 

We fully expect the same favorable result from the timber 
required for our extensive works in course of construction at 
Rotterdam, now creosoting, and during the past year creosoted 
at your creosoting establishment at Fijnord, Rotterdam. 

I remain, sir, your obedient servant, 

G. Freem, 

Chief Inspector Dutch-Rhenish Railway. 



35 
COLOGNE & MINDEN RAILWAY. 

Hitherto it has not been necessary to renew any of the 
sleepers or timbers used in bridges that were impregnated 
with creosote oil, the sleepers that were laid down in 1849 
being in as good condition as ever. On the Dutch rail- 
ways, also, creosoted sleepers have proved very durable 
for twelve years, and creosoted timber has been employed 
there also for water works. — Eisenbahnzeitung, No. 29, 1857. 



PUBLIC WORKS IN BELGIUM. 

In the report presented by the Minister of Public 
Works in Belgium, in May, 1863, to the Legislative As- 
sembly, respecting the operations of the State railways 
in the year 1862, it is stated as follows: 

Page 12. — '' In 1862 a special commission was insti- 
tuted to determine the state of preservation of the sleep- 
ers which, before being put into use, have been the object 
of preparations destined to prolong their duration. The 
result of this commission has been to persuade the Gov- 
ernment to give up entirely the process Boucherie, and 
for the future to abide by the using — 1st, of oak sleepers 
in their natural state, or which have been submitted to 
the preparation of the creosote oils ; 2d, of beech sleep- 
ers, or red pine, prepared after the same process." 

In the spring of 1865 a very careful examination was 
made by the authorities of all the creosoted sleepers, and 
they found that all these sleepers (although some of them 
had been in use nineteen years) were perfectly sound and 
fresh, and in consequence the Belgian Government decided 
to have all their sleepers creosoted in future. 



36 

LONDON INSTITUTE OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 

At a meeting of the Institute of Civil Engineers in 
London, in May, 1850, Mr. Brunei and Mr. Hawkshaw, 
the eminent engineers, remarked as follows : 

Mr. Brunei believed that longitudinal timbers, thor- 
oughly creosoted and properly put together, were at -least 
as durable as the iron rails ; and he might even say that, 
under certain circumstances, the timber would last the 
longest. He believed that, with fair usage, the timber 
would be more durable than the iron, so that he did not 
agree in the desirability of abandoning timber and adopt- 
ing iron for sleepers. 

He must expressly state his convictions, that, at the 
expiration of forty years, well-creosoted longitudinal tim- 
bers would be found in a sound and serviceable condition. 

Mr. Hawkshaw had arrived at the conclusion that well- 
creosoted longitudinal timber sleepers, with heavy malle- 
able iron rails, formed the best and most durable hne : 
it was the cheapest in the first cost and in subsequent 
maintenance, and was least injurious to the rolling stock. 
— Institution of Civil Engineers' Minutes, Vol. ix, pp. 403-5, 

At a meeting on January 11, 1853 — 

Mr. Hawkshaw said he had tried all the principal sys- 
tems, and would not generally adopt any except creo- 
soting. Kyan's was inefficient, Burnett's was not satisfac- 
tory, and Payne's rendered the wood brittle. He had 
certainly never seen an instance of decay in creosoted 
timber, even in the most unfavorable position. — Institution 
of Civil Engineers' Minutes, Vol. xii, p. 230. 



37 

Statements made before the London Institute of Civil 
Engineers, and reported in the Civil Engineer arid Archi- 
tect s Journal: 

" The creosoting process was not, as often described, a 
chemical process entirely. It was to a certain extent, be- 
cause the creosote oil was the strongest coagulator of the 
albumen in the sap of the wood. But that was not his 
only idea when he introduced the process ; his object was 
also to fill the pores of the wood with a bituminous 
asphaltic substance which rendered it water-proof, and by 
which, in process of time, the wood so treated became 
much more solid and harder than heart-wood itself. 

'' The result was fully shown by some specimens he 
had received from Belgium of half-round sleepers creo- 
soted by him fifteen years ago, which showed that all the 
young wood had become set, as it were, into a piece of 
soHd asphalt ; and Scotch fir and Baltic timber which had 
their pores filled with the tar oil, became entirely water- 
proof Of the Scotch fir sleepers laid on the Northeast- 
ern Railway in 1841, eighty per cent are doing duty at 
the present time, and such cases of decay as have occurred 
were found to have taken place in the heart-wood. The 
engineer of the Belgian State Railways had sent him some 
specimens, not long ago, which illustrated the same fact. 
He found one specimen which had lost a piece of its 
heart by decay ; but upon experimenting upon the trans- 
verse strength of that sleeper, against a similar sleeper 
uncreosoted, it was found quite as strong, though it had 
lost its heart, because, from the thorough impregnation of 
the bitumen, the young wood had become so hard that it 
was more like an iron pipe, and he was satisfied that if 



38 

it lost all the heart it would be stronger than a sleeper 
in its natural state. 

** The half-round sleepers lasted longer than the square 
form, because they retained all the young wood, and would 
have more creosote in it, but in the square sleeper it 
would be cut off." 



SOUTH DURHAM COLLIERY. 

South Durham Colliery^ March 5, 1859. 

Dear Sir : I beg to state in reply to your note, that the creo- 
soted props put in in February, 1844, ^^^ ^^^^ standing, and, to 
all appearance, are as sound as when put in 15 years ago. We 
put in props of the same sort of the timber, uncreosoted, in the 
same place, which do not last more than from six to nine 
months, until they are to renew. 

I am, dear sir, yours truly, 

Adam Hackworth, Overman. 



STOCKTON AND DARLINGTON RAILWAY. 

March 15, 1867. 

Gentlemen : I forwarded per rail, yesterday, a piece of 
creosoted yellow pine timber, cut from the end of a sleeper, 
which was laid down on the Stockton & Darlington Railway, 
August, 1 841. 

The sleeper, save being slightly indented by the chairs, is in 
a state of excellent preservation, and likely to last many more 
years. 

You will perceive that the piece forwarded is as sound and 
strong as the first day it was laid in the ground, nearly twenty- 
six years ago. It would have been rendered useless in quarter 
the time if laid down in its natural state. 

Now, seeing that the decay of timber is gradual, and goes on 
from year to year, and the creosoted timlier is unchanged after 
twenty-six years, one cannot put any limit to its duration, save 
from mechanical action, such as that of small based-chairs; the 
careless and injudicious manner in which they are fastened to 
the sleepers in many cases suffering them to work loose for 
long periods, and thereby embed themselves. These are causes 
which I believe have never received a sufficient amount of 



39 

attention, but which can, in a great measure, be remedied ; and, 
no doubt, have often given a bias against creosoting. 

I believe I may safely say that I have had now as large an 
experience in permanent way as most men (something like 
forty years) and have had to do with stone blocks, different 
kinds of timber laid down in its natural state, and cast-iron 
sleepers, which, by the way, I have seen taken up after being 
down some seven or eight years, half eaten away by the sulpher 
from the ballast, and do think that properly creosoted traverse 
sleepers of good substance^ chairs with a good base and fro- 
perly fastened^ and double-headed rail 75 or 80 lbs. per yard, 
seated on oak cushions, make the best and most economical 
permanent way that has come within my experience. 

I am, gentlemen, yours respectfully, 

Thomas Summerson, Inspector. 



Hope Town Foundry., Darlington^ ) 
April 17, 1867. / 

Gentlemen : I have been making some tests of creosoted 
and uncreosoted Scotch fir and memel timber for Mr. Cud- 
worth, of the S. & D. Railway. It appears that an impression 
has got abroad, that creosoting renders the timber short or 
brittle ; however, the result of our test proves quite the con- 
trary. We took six pieces each of creosoted and uncreosoted 
Scotch fir, 2 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft. i 1-2 in., cut from the heart of the 
same sleeper and the same quantity of memel ; the average 
breaking weight, both as regards the Scotch fir and memel, was 
in favor of the creosoted timber. This nearly agrees with some 
tests I made from the pieces of timber I sent you last, and 
which had lain twenty-six years. I thought if there was any 
deterioration of strength it was the most likely to be from this, 
which was yellow pine. I took six pieces from it ^-^ in. 
square, and six pieces of the same substance from a new yellow 
pine deal, and tested these with an indicated spring balance and 
found the strength as nearly equal as possible, but there was a 
marked difference in the deflection or yielding previous to 
breaking, the creosoted timber bending much more than the 
other. I don't know whether you may have made any trials 
yourselves. I was curious in the matter myself, and thought it 
might be interesting to you. 

I am gentlemen, yours respectfully, 

Thomas Summerson. 



40 

TANFIELD MOOR COLLIERY. 

Newcastle-on-Tyne^ May 6, 1867. 

Gentlemen : We put in a quantity of your creosoted props 
in the main return air-course in the Tanfield Moor ColHery, in 
April, i860; at the same time we put in an equal quantity of 
larch props, alternately ; the larch were renewed twice in three 
years, when we replaced them with creosoted props from your 
establishment, the whole of which appear to be as sound as 
when first put in. We send you a portion of one of the props 
put in in i860. 

We are, gentlemen, yours respectfully, 

James Joicey & Co. 



MICKLEY COLLIERY. 

Mickley Colliery^ yune 28, 1867. 

Gentlemen : Creosoted timber was used for securing the 
horse and engine ways of Mickley Colliery about fourteen years 
ago ; the accompanying samples show the condition of the 
timber ; in similar places in this colliery, larch timber will con- 
tinue sound for about six years, and Scotch for about four years, 
I therefore have much pleasure in bearing testimony to the 
advantage of using (where practicable) creosoted wood for 
timbering the permanent roads of a colliery. 

I remain, gentlemen, yours truly, 

Matthew Liddell. 



EXTRACTS FROM THE BUILDING NEWS OF 
JULY 5, 1870. 

" The preservative properties of creosote appear to be three- 
fold. First, it prevents the absorption of moisture in any form 
or under any change of temperature ; secondly, it is noxious to 
animal and vegetable life, thereby repelling the attacks of 
insects, and preventing the propagation of fungi ; thirdly, it 
arrests the vegetation or living principle of the tree, after its 
separation from the root, which is one of the primary causes 
of dry rot and other species of decay. 

" Creosoted sleepers (American white fir) placed on the line 
from Manchester to Crewe, in 1838, are still as sound as when 
first laid down. 

" Creosoting, too, has proved most effective against marine 
worms, according to E. H. Von Baumhauer, who was engaged 



41 

by the Royal Academy of Sciences at Amsterdam, to investi- 
gate the subject, and who proved to the society, in a manner 
incontestible, that the teredo navalis had never attacked wood 
that had been thoroughly creosoted.* 

" It has been stated that creosoting renders timber brittle, but 
no satisfactory proof has yet been adduced ; while, on the 
other hand, we have the testimony of such gentlemen as Mr. 
Ure, the engineer of the River Tyne Commissioners, who gives 
it as his opinion that there is no difference between the strength 
of creosoted and uncreosoted timber ; as for long beams, diag- 
onal stays, etc., he specifies the same sizes in both cases; and 
further, that, in driving some long piles, they had driven them 
so hardly that they took fire at the top, and yet showed no signs 
of breaking. Mr, Ure, as most engineers know, has had very 
large experience in pile-driving. 

'" Mr. Burt states that, after an experience of twenty years, 
during which time he sent about one million and a half of 
sleepers to India alone, besides having prepared many thousand 
loads of timber for other purposes, he could safely assert that 
the instances of failure had been rare and isolated. In those 
cases where decay had taken place, it has been found, on 
inquiry, to be due to the operation not having been properly 
performed. As a collateral proof that this mode of preserving 
timber is considered satisfactory, it has lately been more exten- 
sively employed than any other method." 

* See " Sur le Taret et le moyens de preserver le Bois de ses degats." Par E. 
H. Von Baumhauer. i866. 



42 



AUTHORITIES O]^ MAEINE WORKS. 



REPORT UPON EXPERIMENTS 

OF MONS. L. CREPIN, INGENIEUR DES FONTS ET CHAUSSEES, UPON 

CREOSOTED BALTIC TIMBER, TO TEST ITS POWER OF 

RESISTING DECAY, AND THE ATTACKS OF THE 

TEREDO NAVALIS IN SEA WORKS. 



ANNALES DES TRAVAUX PUBLICS DE BELGIQUE. 

VOL. XXI. 1864. 



The experiments undertaken by me in 1857, at Ostend, 
to ascertain the relative preservation of timber prepared 
with sulphate of copper, and timber prepared with creosote 
oil, when placed in the sea, and the relative resistance of 
such differently-prepared timber to the attacks of the 
teredo worm, were described in volumes 19 and 20 of these 
Annales. 

I having proceeded with these experiments, and having 
again minutely inspected the creosoted wood, I am able to 
say that it presents no trace of the teredo, and is in a 
perfect state of preservation. The experiments, I believe, 
may be now taken as decisive, and we may conclude that 
well creosoted fir timber, prepared with creosote oil of 
good quality, is proof against the attacks of the teredo, 
and is certain to last for a long time. 

Let us sum up the results of these experiments, or, at 
least, such as apply to the timber submerged in the sea. 



43 

and exposed to the teredo's attacks. This timber is placed 
exactly 6 ft. 3 in. (1,90 met.) above the low-water mark 
of spring tides, so that the pieces between 6 ft. 7 in. and 
8 ft. 7 in. (2 met. and 2.60 met.) long are left partly dry 
twice m the day. The teredo greatly abounds at Ostend, 
and has been found in all situations below 6 ft. 3 in. (1.90 
met.) above the low water mark of spring tides. 

In the first fortnight of the month of October, 1857, I 
placed immediately beneath the hne marking 6 ft. 3 in. 
(1.90 met.) above the water mark, upon the piles of the 
east pier — 

1. Three pieces of creosoted fir, which had been taken 
from a lot of wood prepared in the ordinary way by the 
State Railway. 

2. Three pieces of beech prepared with sulphate of 
copper. 

3. One piece of fir and one piece of beech wood not 
prepared in any way. 

THE FIRST INSPECTION, 1 859. 

In the beginning of January, 1859, the above men- 
tioned pieces were taken down and inspected. 

It was found that the piece of fir unprepared was much 
perforated by the teredo ; that the piece of beech unpre- 
pared was perforated from one end to the other; that the 
pieces prepared with sulphate of copper were all three 
eaten by the teredo ; and that the three pieces of creo- 
soted fir alone were intact, and without a trace of the 
teredo. 

The three last-mentioned pieces alone were replaced, a 
slice having been previously cut off from each as a spe- 
cimen ; in two of the pieces the sawn surface was covered 



44 

with flat-headed nails ; but, in the case of the third, this 
precaution was purposely omitted, 

THE SECOND INSPECTION, i860. 

The second inspection of the three pieces of creosoted 
wood took place in March, I860. 

Traces of the teredo were discoverable in the piece, the 
sawn surface of which had not been covered with the flat- 
headed nails: but the two other pieces were altogether 
intact. Upon the heart-wood portion of one of the sides 
which probably had not been very fully impregnated with 
creosote, some very small holes of young teredos were 
discovered, but it was plain that they had not been able 
to penetrate it at all. The two latter pieces were replaced. 

THE THIRD EXAMINATION, 1 862. 

In the early part of July, 1862, the two pieces replaced 
in i860 were re-examined, and presented no signs of the 
teredo. They were then replaced as before. 

THE FOURTH EXAMINATION, 1 864. 

The two pieces replaced in 1862 were examined upon 
January 21, 1864, and it was then found that they pre- 
sented no trace of the teredo, and no signs of decay of 
any kind. These two pieces are now in as perfect a state 
of preservation as when they were first put into the sea ; 
the wood has retained all its elasticity, and has acquired 
a density which it did not possess in its unprepared state ; 
the creosote oil also appears to have been entering more 
deeply into the wood. These two pieces have been 
exposed to the teredo from the month of October, 1857, 
to 2 1st January, 1864 — a period of more than six years. 



45 

They had, however, absorbed but a small proportion of 
creosote oil. They are now in a state of perfect preserva- 
tion. The experiment appears to me conclusive. 

However, as I said in the notice of this experiment, 
inserted in volume 20 of the Annales, the Honorable the 
Minister of Public Works was so good as to order some 
pieces of wood to be prepared at Ghent on the i6th May, 
1 86 1, by the officers of the State Railway, expressly for 
my use ; and I accordingly received fifteen pieces then 
prepared, with which to make a further experiment. I 
fixed these fifteen pieces, in the first fortnight of June, 
1 861, upon the front row of piles of the east pier, all 
within 6 ft. 3 in. (1.90 met.) above the low water mark of 
the spring tides. 

In the course of the winter of 1861, and the first month 
of 1862, three of these pieces — numbered 30, 33, and 40 — 
were swept away by the sea and lost. 

The remaining twelve pieces were taken off, placed on 
the quay, and examined on the nth of July, 1862. After 
having ascertained that they bore no trace of the teredo, 
I kept, as samples, numbers 16 and 18, and replaced the 
ten others. 

These were taken down and examined on 21st of Janu- 
ary, 1864, and it was then again ascertained that they 
showed no trace of the teredo, nor any kind of alteration 
or decay. 

They are strongly impregnated with creosote, and the 
oil seems to have been penetrating more deeply into the 
wood. The wood is hard, and retains all its elasticity. 
On weighing the ten pieces in question, I found that they 
had gained in weight, upon an average, 14 lbs. (6.25 kilos) 
each, during their immersion from 1862 to 1864. In i862 



46 

we tound that they had scarcely increased in weight at 
all, but the normal weight with which we compared them 
was, in this case, their weight as taken in the creosoting 
yard immediately after their preparation ; and most prob- 
ably this normal weight would have been less had they 
been weighed in the first instance upon their immersion 
in the sea at Ostend. 

At all events, it is certain that the weight of the creo- 
soted pieces of wood is found to be increased after their 
immersion in the sea ; they cannot, therefore, have lost 
in the sea any of the creosote oil with which they were 
impregnated. This circumstance is probably owing to the 
insolubility of the oil in the water, and also to the fact of 
its density being about equal to that of the sea water. It 
appears that, after its creosoting, and its subsequent 
immersion in the sea for two years and a half, the fir wood 
has nearly doubled in weight. It has acquired, and now 
retains, the density of oak. 

This trial of creosoted fir for marine purposes appears 
to me conclusive, both as regards the preservation of the 
wood, and as regards its resistance to the teredo. Experi- 
ments made in England, and recently in France and 
Holland, tend to the same conclusion. I cannot too 
strongly recommend the use of creosoted fir wood in 
hydraulic engineering, in preference to oak (the price of 
which, especially for the larger pieces, has become exces- 
sive), since, in addition to its being cheaper, there is no 
doubt of the creosoted fir lasting longer. The Govern- 
ment Public Works Department has cordially adopted this 
most beneficial process, and constructed part of the dyke, 
and the whole of the American foot-passengers' bridge, in 
the new works at Ostend, of creosoted red fir. 



47 

At Nieuport, a visitor's pier, 600 met. (660 feet), has 
been built of creosoted fir, upon the left bank of the chan- 
nel ; and the new pier, which is to be carried out from 
the end of it into the sea, will doubtless likewise be made 
of creosoted fir. Moreover, various sluice gates at Ostend 
have recently been ordered to be renewed, and creosoted 
Baltic fir and pitch pine to be used for that purpose. 

The only things about which, to my mind, we need be 
solicitous, are, the proper creosoting of the timber with 
proper creosote oil, and the use of the proper kinds of the 
timber, viz. : those best suited to the process of creosoting. 

Ostend, ^th February, 1854. 



REPORT RESPECTING CREOSOTING AT LEITH. 

3 East Register Street, \ 

Edinburgh, 26th March, 1862. f 

Sir : In consequence of your letter to the Commission- 
ers of the Leith Pier and Harbor Works, they appointed 
a sub-committee of their Board to inspect the works, and 
see the state of the creosoted timber, of which the Leith 
Pier was constructed in the year 1850. 

I went, yesterday, with the sub-committee and Mr. 
Robertson, their engineer, to the works, when they all 
very carefully examined the works. 

It was ascertained and admitted by all, that unprepared 
wood is completely eaten away by the worms, at this 
place, in three or four years, and that, if the piers and 
woodwork had not been creosoted, the whole would have 
been destroyed in four years. 



4S 

I will now proceed to report the result of our exam- 
ination : 

LEITH PIER. 

The Main Piles. — These were very carefully examined 
by Mr. Robertson and the Commissioners' Superintendent, 
but in no instance could they find that the worm attacked 
them. They were creosoted with ten pounds per foot, and 
these piles are 1,013 in number. 

The beams supporting the deck planks, consisting of 
forty-two beams, 27 feet long, 13 inches by 16^ inches, 
were next examined ; they appeared to be perfectly sound, 
except in one instance ; this beam was eaten all over, and 
must have been badly, or not at all creosoted. 

The next were the walings and cross-ties; they were 
all perfectly sound, except^ in several instances^ the ends of 
them were eaten by the worm ; it was only in that part of 
their ends which had been cut — the other portions of these 
pieces were perfectly free from the attack of the worm, 
they are 13 by 6^ inches, creosoted with seven pounds 
to the foot. 

The iron spikes that were drawn out of the beams with 
the planks, were the same as if newly made ; not the 
slightest appearance of rust being upon them, although 
they had been in the wood and sea twelve years. This 
I pointed out to the Commissioners. 

To enable the Committee to see the planks properly, 
several of them were lifted, which showed them to be 
considerably eaten on the under side, except the portions 
that rested on the beams, which had the appearance of 
being newly creosoted, being wet with oil. 

Although these planks have lasted twelve years, I am 
satisfied, that had this low landing slip been laid with 



49 

deals perfectly dry, in place of planks cut off logs, and 
impregnated with ten pounds of oil instead of six, there 
would not have been any decay at all. 

These planks are not eaten in the same way as an 
uncreosoted piece of timber ; uncreosoted timber is eaten 
on all sides, the insects attacking the outside and eating 
inwards; whereas, in creosoted timber, the insect gets in 
only at the heart, at the exposed end, and eats to the 
outside. 

These planks, although considerably eaten, have, in 
mostly every case, the outer side perfectly square ; if it 
had been an uncreosoted piece, the corners would have 
been eaten away, and the piece ultimately become round. 

The only portions of the works that the Committee 
did not see were the sheeting piles, the tide not being 
low enough at the time. 

This concluded the inspection. 

After the examination was over, one of the Commis^ 
sioners said : " I can see that the creosoting has been bene- 
ficial to the timber, so much so that, as the piles which 
have now been down for twelve years seem perfectly 
sound, I consider they may last twelve years more." 

He also said that he was afraid, if the piles had not 
been creosoted, they would 7tot have been able to find any 
piles there at all. ' As to the planking, he said it had 
lasted them twelve years, and they could not expect it 
to last forever ; if they had not had it creosoted, they 
would have had to renew it several times ; and to show 
that he was satisfied, he said he would propose to have 
the planking relaid with creosoted wood, only it must be 
well done. 

The superintendent has proposed to have it relaid with 



60 

causewaying in place of wood, but Mr. Robertson over- 
ruled that. 

I then asked to be allowed to take a cross-tie as a 
sample for the exhibition, which I would renew. It was 
proposed that I should have it, and agreed to, the super- 
intendent being instructed to mark it off for me. 
I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

P. M. MoiR. 

Note. — The total quantity of timber required for repairs of this 
pier, up to the present date, July, 1864, has been 400 cubic feet. 



LEITH HARBOR. 
Castlemilk Place,, Glasgow,, la^th August,, 1857. 

Sir: The timber for the extensive new piers at Leith Har- 
bor, completed in 1S54, was all previously prepared by 
creosoting. 

A short time previous to my recent departure from Leith, 
and while resident engineer of the harbor, I made a minute 
examination of the piles of the piers, and was happy to find 
that, after the lapse of about six years, I could not discover 
any flaws from the attacks of the sea-worm. 

I may likewise mention that, for the purpose of testing the 
efficacy of creosoting, I placed, at various periods, several 
pieces of uncreosoted timber alongside the creosoted, and 
found that the former were completely perforated by the 
worm in two years' time. 

I am, yours respectfully, 

Thomas Maclean, Civil Engineer. 



A. FORESTIER, 

INGENIEUR EN CHEF DES FONTS ET CHAUSSEES. 

In a work lately published in France by Mons. A. 
Forestier, " Ingenieur en Chef des Fonts et Chaussees," 
may be found detailed reports of similar tests made for 



51 

twenty-nine years in the ports of Sunderland, Teignmouth, 
Lowestoft, Leith, Southampton, Brighton, Devonshire, 
Manchester, Plymouth, Portland, Holyhead, Ostend, and 
of Sables d'Olonne, and in every case creosote oil was 
found to be the only substance which would protect wood 
against the naval worm, and from dry rot and other causes 
of decay. 

The following extracts are taken from the work by 
Mons. A. Forestier, above referred to, and published in 
Paris in 1868, entitled, ^^ Memoir e sur la Conservation des 
Bois a la Mer'' 

"Our studies and experiments have entirely convinced 
us that of all the numerous processes hitherto known, the 
only one thoroughly efficacious is that which consists in 
thoroughly impregnating wood with creosote. 

'' The gates of the docks at Monk-Wearmouth, at Sun- 
derland, were, in 1839, constructed of yellow pine treated 
with creosote ; and twenty years afterwards, on the 5th 
of April, 1859, ^^ th^ meeting of the Institution of Civil 
Engineers, Mr. S. E. Harrison reported that they were 
still perfectly sound, while certain pieces of Kyanized wood 
in the same dock were very badly damaged by the naval 
worm. 

''In 1842, Mr. Brunei employed at Teignmouth creo- 
soted wood, and at the meetings on November 27th and 
December 4th, 1849, ^^ ^^ Institution of Civil Engineers, 
he gave his assurance that these timbers had not been 
touched by the naval worm, while all those not creosoted 
had been more or less decayed. 

"It was in 1946, at the port of Lowestoft, that the 
experiment was for the first time tried on a grand scale 
of using, in salt water, wood treated with creosote, the 



52 

occasion being the construction of two piers, in which not 
less than sixteen hundred piles were driven. 

"The happy results obtained were for a long time 
denied and disputed, and it is said that they went even to 
the length of offering a reward to any one who would 
produce a specimen of creosoted wood attacked by the 
naval worm. 

"In 1849, a party interested in proving the failure of 
the plan came, assisted by an engineer, and passed three 
days in examining with the greatest care each pile ; and, 
after this long and minute search, could discover, out of 
the whole sixteen hundred, only six very slightly attacked, 
which must be considered, evidently, as a very slight 
exception, and of no consequence. 

'* This experiment is so much the more conclusive, 
because the port of Lowestoft is, perhaps, of all in Eng- 
land, the most infested with the naval worm and limnoria. 

"The compilation of the facts detailed shows that 
creosoted wood, inspected after 7, 8, 11, 13, 14 and 20 
years, has been found in a perfect state of preservation, 
while, after a few years, and often after a few months, other 
specimens of the same kind of wood, subjected to the 
same conditions, have been used up." 

M. Forestier, referring to extensive experiments made 
in Belgium, by M. Crepin, gives that gentleman's own 
words : 

" In a word, it is proven that sea water has no action 
on creosoted surfaces, and that the portions of the wood 
well impregnated preserve their penetrating odor, and pre- 
sent no trace of alteration." 

M. Forestier also gives the conclusions reached by a 
Commission appointed by the Dutch Government, and 



53 

which tried faithfully and extensively various processes 
which purported to preserve wood. In summing up, the 
Commission says : " The sole thing that with any great 
probability can be regarded as a true preservative against 
the havoc to which wood is exposed on the part of the 
naval worm, is creosote oiiy 

By a series of experiments, conducted in Holland, 
under the direction of the Academy of Sciences of 
Amsterdam, it was proved that "■ creosote oil " was the 
only substance which would protect wood in the shape 
of piles, etc., from the attacks of the teredo navalis (naval 
worm). 

REPORT TO SARDINIAN GOVERNMENT. 

A fir sleeper of ordinary size has a volume of 0.70 
M. c, and weighs 40 K. After its injection with creosote 
its weight is 65 K. and it has acquired a density equal to 
oak. This property admits the lise of white wood sleep- 
ers under the joint cushions, and along the incHned 
plane dei Giovi, where sleepers injected with metaUic salts 
were obliged to be taken up after a few days on account 
of the cushion having become embedded on the wood. — 
Report of G. Alby, C. E., to the Committee ordered by the 
Sardinian Government to consider the relative merits of the 
different processes of preserving wood. — Turin, i860. 

In his evidence, given before the Select Committee on 
Harbors of Refuge, Mr. Abernethy said : 

" I am convinced that timber, when creosoted, is not 
subject to the action of the worm, as far as my actual 
observation goes ; and in that case probably I am under- 
stating it when I say it would last for half a century at 
least." 



64 

LOWESTOFT HARBOR, NORFOLK. 

The earliest wood creosoted and exposed to the sea in 
harbors was used at Lowestoft ; and Mr. Sinclair, the en- 
gineer of that harbor, made the following statement at the 
Engineer's Institute, on April 5th, 1859, regarding it: 

At the meeting at the Institution of Civil Engineers, 
Mr. T. E. Harrison remarked that the entrance gates of 
the Monk-Wearmouth docks at Sunderland, which had 
been constructed of yellow pine, creosoted twenty years 
ago by Mr. Brunei, were quite sound, but portions of Ky- 
anized timber, used in the same works, had been attacked 
by the worm to a considerable extent. 



MANCHESTER, SHEFFIELD & LINCOLNSHIRE 
RAILWAY, GREAT GRIMSBY DOCK. 

Engineer's Office^ August 20^/2, 1857. 

Dear Sir : — I am very glad to bear testimony to the very 
satisfactory result creosoting has had upon the hundreds of 
piles used in the construction of piers of the Tidal Basin for 
the entrance to the Grimsby Docks, which has been done for 
seven years : none of the timber which was creosoted is in 
the least decayed or affected by the worm, whereas, other 
piles, which were driven alongside by mistake, and not hav- 
ing undergone creosoting, have been nearly destroyed by the 
worms, and are also considerably decayed. I can highly 
recommend the process as being the most sure and perfect 
preventive against all sea-worms and decay in timber ; but 
much depends upon the oil beinsf properly injected into the 
timber, to produce a satisfactory effect. 

I am, dear sir, yours truly, 

Adam Smith, 

Dock Engineer, 

PORTLAND BREAKWATER. 

Engineer's Office^ Portland^ 2\th August^ 1S57. 

Dear Sir: — In reply to your letter of the 22d inst., making 
inquiry as to the efficacy of creosoted wood in resisting the 



55 

attacks of sea-worms, I am happy to be able to inform you 
that, so far as our experience will enable me to speak, the 
result of the impregnation of the timber with creosote has been 
most successful and satisfactory. 

As an instance of the successful application of creosote, I 
may mention that about two months since it became necessary 
to remove some piles that had been down four years, and 
fully exposed from above the level of high water to nearly 
fifty-five feet under sea-water ; there was no sign whatever of 
any attacks by sea-worms^ notwithstanding that we have 
" Teredo Navalis " and " Limnoria Terebrans'* in the bay, the 
latter in great numbers, and most destructive to unprepared 
timber. I have known three-inch plank unprepared eaten 
quite through by them in about three years, at a point not very 
far from the site of the piles alluded to. 

I am, yours truly, 

John Coode, 

\^ Engineer-in- Chief. 



56 



PROFESSOR BAIRD, 

OF SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE, WASHINGTON, 

In an article published in the Philadelphia Ledger, on 
timber used for marine purposes and its security from 
decay and attacks of sea-worms by use of creosote oil, 
says : 

"■ To a maritime nation there are few subjects of greater 
practical importance than the prevention of the ravages 
of the teredo, or borer in timber immersed in sea water, 
whether in the form of boats and ships, or piles, wharves, 
etc. Many remedies have been proposed, some of them 
beneficial for a time only, others entirely worthless, and 
the encasing or covering the surfaces exposed to the 
water with copper or other metal has ^hitherto been the 
only permanent means of defence, and this only useful 
as long as the shield remains unbroken. 

"Our attention has recently been called to a series of 
experiments conducted in Holland, under the direction of 
the Academy of Sciences of Amsterdam, and a report just 
made embodies so many important conclusions, that we 
present some of them for consideration here. It may be 
well to premise that the "borer" in question is not a 
worm, as frequently supposed, but one of the moUusca or 
shell family, which, floating freely in water when young, 
and almost invisible, attaches itself to timber, and with its 
two extremely minute shells, working like an augur bit, 
bores into the substance of the wood, and increasing in 
size with age, excavates a long tubular gallery, lined with 



57 

a shelly deposit. The wood is not consumed for food, but 
only bored out to afford the proper lodgment for the 
animal. Its tail is provided with two small wire-like 
siphons, which, serving to catch the minute animalcules 
on which it is nourished, project beyond the surface of 
the wood into the water, although readily retracted at 
will. 

"The experiments in question were prosecuted simulta- 
neously in different harbors, and with piles of oak, pine 
and fur, some of which were prepared with the different 
remedies and others left in an exposed condition. Three 
classes of experiments were made — one, the coating the 
external surface only with paint or other substances; 
another, the impregnating the surface and the outer por- 
tion of the wood with different preparations, and another, 
the use of timber different from that usually employed. 

" Under the first class, experiments were made with a 
mixture of tallow, coal-tar, rosin, sulphur, and powdered 
glass ; paraffine varnish, obtained by the dry distillation 
of peat ; coal-tar ; oil paint of different bases ; by carbon- 
izing the surface of the wood ; driving it full of broad- 
headed nails ; coating it with zinc or galvanized iron, and 
by applying a number of secret preparations presented for 
the purpose. None of the remedies gave satisfactory 
results. Some had absolutely no effect, and others 
diminished the evil only in a trifling degree ; while even 
in the latter case, any abrasion of the surface caused by 
floating ice or other means, or the cracking of the wood, 
allowed the entrance of the teredo to an injurious extent. 

** Under the second head, trial was made of sulphate of 
copper, sulphate of iron, acetate of lead, corrosive sub- 
limate, soluble glass, chloride of calcium and chloride of 



58 

zinc ; tar oil, creosote oil, etc. Of these the creosote oil 
experiment alone presented any positive indications of 
beneficial result, and in it the committee found what they 
sought for. After five years of exposure, while all the 
other piles, whether prepared or not, were entirely eaten 
up, those impregnated with this substance were perfectly 
sound and free from any trace of the worms. In experi- 
ments of the third class, various woods were tried ; some 
of extreme hardness, and others reputed to be poisonous, 
but all were more or less, affected by the worm. 

'' The report of the committee sums up with the following 
conclusions: i. That mere external coating of the timber 
with paint or other substance is of no avail; since it is 
impossible to maintain an unbroken surface, the young 
teredo will enter the slightest crack or abrasion. The use 
of copper, zinc or galvanized iron plates is too expensive 
for most occasions ; and even these become of no use 
when broken. 2. Impregnating wood with soluble inor- 
ganic salts which are poisonous to animal life, furnishes 
no protection against the worm. This is due to the fact 
that the sea water soon dissolves away their strength, and 
that the worm does not devour or digest the wood bored 
out by means of the Shelly jaws. 3. The hardness of the 
wood and its poisonous character, as far as known, fur- 
nishes no protection. 4. Creosote oil is so far the only 
substance met with that constitutes a true protection 
against the worm. Attention should therefore be directed 
to the best and quickest methods of saturating the wood 
with this material, and to the kinds of wood most absorb- 
ent of it. As the creosote oil doubtless owes its peculiar 
powers in the respect just indicated mainly to the carbolic 
and cresylic acid it contains, we have another illustration of 



59 

the important applications to be made of the latter sub- 
stances in our domestic and industrial economy. Some of 
these we presented in an extended article, pubHshed last 
summer, and new uses are constantly being brought to 
notice. The pure acids are probably too soluble to be of 
the same use in the preservation of sea timber as the creo- 
sote oil, and are also much too expensive ; but they may 
doubtless be employed to advantage on a small scale, when 
the other substance cannot be had. 

" In conclusion, we may call attention again, as we have 
already done, to the fact that a similar impregnation of 
timber with creosote oil for railroad sleepers and other 
purposes, involving burial in the ground, will be an effectual 
protection against dry rot and similar causes of decay." 



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